About Open Switzerland

Is Switzerland open to the outside world ? Or does it remain the walled fortress of Europe ? Just how open Switzerland is to the rest of the world today? How is this openness perceived? What image does a Switzerland, with its bank secrecy and finance scandals, project? A Switzerland that chose, rightly or wrongly, isolation in the heart of Europe. A Switzerland that shocked the world by banning minarets. While some think Switzerland is too slow in developing international strategies, others demonstrate that Switzerland is increasingly receptive to outside influence. Either way, how the external world perceives Switzerland is a polemic to address head-on.

Open Switzerland is a conceptual design project born from the merger of GVA Studio with the international network Base to create BaseGVA in Geneva Switzerland. The initiative, comprising provocative, rethought, iconic Swiss imagery, an interactive website and a custom-made « neutral » typeface, launches a debate about what it means to challenge a country’s identity and, in doing so, its very reason for being.

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Thank you

Basetica !

Basetica has been designed for the project ‘Open Switzerland’. BaseGVA wanted to show their commitment to the ‘Swiss’ graphic design, with all its quality of precision and rigour. And at the same time represent Switzerland far from its common stereotypes. So, Basetica wants to be an ‘Helvetica for 2013’, open minded, neat and modern. Sometimes a bit raw, but always clean and discrete, Basetica ironically recalls the ‘Swiss International Style’ of the 50s and 60s.